Z Nation - Syfy
Zombies, while not nearly as in high demand as they used to be, still seem to exist on the fringes of entertainment. The Walking Dead is as popular as ever and dozens of videogames and movies featuring the braindead devourers of flesh are produced every minute. Enter the Syfy Network which serves up the latest cash-in brought to you by the good people over at The Asylum. Yes, that Asylum, better known as the makers of Sharknado and cheap knock offs of Hollywood films. The Asylum has its own brand of movie making and that's especially clear in the pilot of Z Nation, which "borrows" a lot of tropes from other successful TV shows. Two Lost alums are floating around in this, although one doesn't quite make it to ahead (spoilers: it's the highest billed member of the cast) which is a failed attempt to tell the audiences no one is safe. The other, played by DJ Qualls, is an enigmatic character known as Citizen Z, who is the self-proclaimed narrator of the "Zompocalypse" but really has no relation to the thinly spun plot. The rest of the cast fill out their roles in mediocre fashion but it's hard to act when you get lines like "I give you mercy" every time they shoot a zombie. There are fun, cheesy moments in the show but only enough to last for a 90 minute film and certainly not a 13 hour season.
Should I watch: Watch if you really, really, REALLY like zombies but not character development. Don't Watch if The Walking Dead is good enough and you don't like The Asylum films. If you need another zombie fix, wait for iZombie in the spring.
Red Band Society - Fox
Fox's first new show of the season furthers their "edgy" market by introducing a show set in a children's ward of a hospital featuring sick kids and Octavia Spencer as a whimsical nurse with attitude dispensing life lessons and sass. Oh yeah and it's a comedy. If you're sold on that concept alone, than this show is for you. But it's pilot ends up being emotionally manipulative crap. There's a real Glee vibe here where all the characters are transparent stereotypes dealing with real world issues through zany situations and inspirational monologues set to acoustic songs from the back catalog of pop artists from circa 2006. Seriously, about half the episode is actual story where we're introduced to different characters including Spencer the sassy nurse, a cheerleader in the vein of spoiled TV cheerleaders, some kid who looks like Edward Furlong, and the narrator (every show has one now) who is a young boy in a coma. There is even a slightly supernatural element introduced where the coma kid can talk to people while they're unconscious. Near the middle, the writers forgot they were writing a story so the back third of the episode is inspirational monologues from dying kids set to Coldpay. I wish I were joking. This ain't TV. This is expensive sap to push commercial products (which honestly is a lot of TV).
Should I watch: Watch if you absolutely love Glee and fake inspirational videos on Buzzfeed. Don't Watch if you've ever been to a hospital and realize they don't keep kids with cancer in the same area as those with anorexia. Also if you like storytelling.
The Mysteries of Laura - NBC
The age of the standard crime procedural is at its end. Let us now welcome the age of the the hybrid crime procedural. Shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine have proved that comedy can work in a cop show and The Mysteries of Laura runs with it. The show is based off a telenovela which explains it's unfortunate name as it's a direct translation of that series. Debra Messing plays a cop mom (or is it mom cop) who is dealing with a divorce and her somewhat troublesome children. The show is very funny and even has somewhat of a film noir vibe to it especially in her solving of the so-called mysteries. She occasionally resorts to some dirty stuff like blackmail and posing as other people to help gather AKA steal evidence. The show also it very close to its telenovela roots in its frequent dramatic reveals and ridiculous cases. The rest of the cast isn't quite fleshed out yet and the only promising cast member is ultimately revealed as a one-off (probably the most criticized point but it works for the genre) but that can easily be repaired as the show goes one. All in all, it's a surprisingly fun show and definitely has impressed me enough to continue watching.
Should I watch: Watch if you love zany detective shows like Veronica Mars or Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Don't watch if you hate fun, dramatic twists, and Spanish style television. Also, I realize Debra Messing has her detractors and that's a shame.
Tim and Eric's Bedtime Stories - Cartoon Network's Adult Swim
Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim left our Adult Swim screen in 2010 and the comedy world has never been the same. After a very successful movie, the duo are back this year! In anthology form! Bedtime Stories is their most accessible project thus far and the stories presented are surprisingly creepy if just long-form comedy sketches exemplifying their brand of anti-humor and gross out aesthetics. The pilot, which aired last year on Halloween matter-of-fact, was a standard haunted house story featuring Zach Galifinakis and was sort of goofy but the premiere of the season, called "Hole" features Heidecker as a super dominant crazy neighbor who terrifies Wareheim's nerdy tech guy. It's a fun play on suburban nightmares as well as alpha male-dominated groups where one guy seems to be the head honcho where everyone is expected to fall into place. The ending is surprisingly both creepy and hilarious all at once and it will be fun to see what kind of stories these guys will cook up.
Should I watch: Watch if you love short-form comedy and horror as well as the comedic stylings of Tim an Eric. Don't Watch if you think Tim and Eric are the worst which a surprising number of people do. This is odd considering their influence from fan favorites like Monty Python and Mr. Show.
Join me this time next week for a whole lot more pilots! Next week has a bunch!
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